Sci Television Inc

Tampa TV Station Sold: WTVT-TV, a CBS-affiliated television station in Tampa, Fla., has been sold for $163 million in cash to SCI Television Inc. The sale was part of the continuing corporate restructuring of investor George Gillett. Denver-based SCI already owns stations in Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Milwaukee and San Diego and is the largest operator of CBS stations other than CBS Inc. WTVT is SCI's fifth CBS affiliate.

Tampa TV Station Sold: WTVT-TV, a CBS-affiliated television station in Tampa, Fla., has been sold for $163 million in cash to SCI Television Inc. The sale was part of the continuing corporate restructuring of investor George Gillett. Denver-based SCI already owns stations in Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Milwaukee and San Diego and is the largest operator of CBS stations other than CBS Inc. WTVT is SCI's fifth CBS affiliate.

Columbia Savings said it was insolvent. Southland Corp., owner of 7-Eleven stores, said bankruptcy may lie ahead. First Executive took a bruising $836-million loss. The news was heavy from the world of high-yield junk bonds last week, and most of it was bad. Companies with junk in their investment portfolios revealed that new and gaping wounds had been inflicted by the junk market's 9-month-old collapse.

Columbia Savings said it was insolvent. Southland Corp., owner of 7-Eleven stores, said bankruptcy may lie ahead. First Executive took a bruising $836-million loss. The news was heavy from the world of high-yield junk bonds last week, and most of it was bad. Companies with junk in their investment portfolios revealed that new and gaping wounds had been inflicted by the junk market's 9-month-old collapse.

Marking a new travail for top buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Hillsborough Holdings said Wednesday that it may be forced into bankruptcy court if can't soon renegotiate its $624 million in junk bond debt. Hillsborough--a building materials company called Jim Walter Corp. until it was bought by KKR two years ago for $2.

Perelman Invests in TV Infomercial Producer: Financier Ronald Perelman has bought a one-third stake for $25 million in Palm Desert-based infomercial TV producer Guthy-Renker Corp. Guthy-Renker, which had revenue of more than $70 million last year, has produced about a dozen leading infomercials. Perelman's other major interests include a controlling stake in the SCI Television Inc. group of TV stations, New World Entertainment, Genesis Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment.

The unraveling of a plan to sell $1.5 billion in "junk bonds" for Southland Corp. raised questions Wednesday on Wall Street about whether the depressed market for the risky, high-yield bonds can handle any new offerings. Citing the uncertain market for the high-yield "junk bonds," corporate raider Asher B. Edelman said he is reviewing all aspects of a buyout offer for Telex Corp. Also, the stock price of Santa Fe Southern Pacific fell $2.375 to $49.

Marking a new travail for top buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Hillsborough Holdings said Wednesday that it may be forced into bankruptcy court if can't soon renegotiate its $624 million in junk bond debt. Hillsborough--a building materials company called Jim Walter Corp. until it was bought by KKR two years ago for $2.

George N. Gillett Jr., who has assembled the nation's largest group of television stations over the past several years, has fallen short of his earnings projections and has begun looking for buyers for some of his firm's 12 properties, industry officials say. Gillett has been talking to potential buyers for several weeks about five of the stations: KCST-TV in San Diego, WJBK-TV in Detroit, WJW-TV in Cleveland, WMAR-TV in Baltimore and WOKR-TV in Rochester, N.Y.

In the risky business of television, Genesis Entertainment has managed to survive for a decade by avoiding big gambles. The Agoura Hills-based television syndicator and sometime producer has typically taken on only one or two projects a year. And by relentless salesmanship, it has never failed to sell the TV series it represents to TV stations around the country.